As director of the division, Michael is a man on a mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, maximize energy efficiency and redirect material from landfills into productive uses. Michael leads an impressive team who works within the airport infrastructure to establish new operating procedures and upgrade existing fixtures to cost and energy-efficient equipment.

SUCCESS: The airport replaced 4,342 210-watt metal-halide lights with 80-watt LEDs, switched economy parking lot shuttle service from gas to electric-powered vehicles, and replaced on-site park-and-ride gas-powered vehicles with 18 compressed natural gas buses. Note fixture and equipment upgrades must be accomplished with ease while servicing more passengers than any other airport in the world. A daunting task met with success by the airport team.

At the heart of the Going Green Award was a provision in the new airport concessions contract requiring food vendors to use compostable consumer-facing packaging and serviceware and separate organics to divert from landfills. The ZWA Blog post, Atlanta Airport Makes a Bold Statement, gives details of the contract provision.According to Michael, " This is the largest concession contract ever bid in North America and as part of that, all concessionaires are required to follow this new standard. This will set the standard not only for concessionaires here at the airport, but it starts to set the standard for concessionaires nationwide."

The airport's waste reduction goals are consistent with those of the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, dictating a 90 percent diversion of waste material from landfills by 2020.

It is an honor for the SFCI to work in partnership with airport's stellar team, complemented by support from the City of Atlanta's Office of Sustainability. The important work is in its infancy as are the awards recognizing the Atlanta Airport's heroic sustainability commitment. Stay tuned ...

About Me

Passionate and driven, Holly Elmore is the founder and CEO of Elemental Impact. Utilizing her eclectic professional experience, ranging from Arthur Andersen auditor to controller of the SE Division of Trammell Crow to entrepreneur and owner of Executive Catering along with two restaurants, spiritual counselor to founder of a national non-profit, Holly is on a mission to bring integrity into corporate business practices. While the IMPACT and Zero Waste in ACTION blogs’ audience is the corporate community, the Evolved Integrity blog speaks to personal challenges while navigating the Earth’s energetic shifts. Whimsical in nature, The Tommy Thomas Tales blog speaks to everyday challenges told from a cat’s point of view.